Nile Transboundary Environmental Action Project, Phase I

The Nile Trans boundary Environmental Action Project (NTEAP) is one of the eight Projects under the Nile Basin Initiative Shared Vision Program (SVP), whose main objective is to provide a strategic environmental framework for the management of the transboundary waters and environmental challenges in the Nile River Basin. The project has 5 components:

Institutional strengthening: The component aims at enabling improved transboundary cooperation on environmental management among and between Nile basin countries through improved communication, knowledge exchange and enhanced tools for environmental management.

Community-level land, forest and water conservation: The Nile Transboundary Micro grant Program will support community-driven interventions to address transboundary environmental threats on a local scale

Environmental education and awareness: will focus on creating awareness on the River Nile environmental threats, while stimulating behavioural change at three levels; the general public, the schools and tertiary institutions of learning.

Wetlands & biodiversity: in Phase II. Will focus on demonstrating best practices in protected area and wetland management and build the required capacity for ensuring long-term conservation.

Water quality monitoring: The Component will initiate a basin wide dialogue on water quality and improve understanding of trans-boundary water quality issues, improve capacities for monitoring and management of water quality and initiate exchange and dissemination of information on key parameters.

A Project Management Unit (PMU) was established in Khartoum, Sudan, which is hosted by the government of Sudan and has a budget of $43.6 Million dollars, over an implementation period of five years. The project’s start up phase begun when the Regional Project Manager and the Finance & Procurement Specialist reported to their duty station in Khartoum in mid-October 2003. The PMU became fully functional in the period between January and May 2004 at which time most of the staff were employed, the PMU was equipped and furnished and the project was officially inaugurated.

The Nile Basin secretariat, Shared Vision Project coordinates all of the seven projects under the shared vision program. The NBI has entered a management service agreement with UNOPS to execute the NTEAP and UNOPS has employed international and local support staff from the NBI countries to manage the PMU and execute the project. The World Bank and UNDP, as GEF implementing agencies , support the project in their areas of expertise. The Project Steering Committee meets annually to provide strategic guidance and approve the annual work plans.